After Willie set the menus on the table and left, Finnick climbed onto the left-hand booth and quickly adjusted the bench up so he could sit comfortably at the table. Not many restaurants that allowed foxes had the adjustable seats, but Sonjays was one of them and he dearly missed eating here.

As Finnick fiddled with the bench's height, Nick asked Judy if she preferred sitting on the inside or outside of the booth. After a moment's thought, Judy replied, "I'll sit on the outside. That way I don't have to climb over the bench too much and risk pulling my stitches."

Nick nodded. He wanted to say he could pick her up and set her on the bench but knew that wouldn't go over very well with some of the other patrons. So with a deep breath, he kept his mouth shut and simply climbed into the seat. Once he was over far enough, he offered Judy a paw to help her up. She gladly accepted and was soon situated next to him on the padded bench.

As she picked up the menu, Judy glanced around the diner and took note of the other patrons. "There's not that many prey here, for it catering to both preds and prey."

"Well, this is a predator owned diner and with the savage attacks, I'm surprised this many prey still eat here," Nick pointed out.

Finnick nodded, saying, "These are mostly the regulars that have been coming here for years, so they've built up a trust." With a wide grin and a wave of his paw, he added, "And they're not going to let some savage keep them from the excellent food served here."

"Amen to that," Nick agreed as he picked up his menu. He knew what he wanted but was curious to see if anything new had been added since the last time he'd come here.

Judy perused the menu, then leaned toward Nick and asked, "Since you've been here before, what do you recommend?"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Carrots, in case you haven't noticed yet, but I'm a predator, so I only know what's good on the predator side of the menu." As Judy's ears drooped, he added, "But since you like all things vegetable, I'd recommend the Garden Vegetable Extravaganza."

As Judy began flipping through the menu looking for it, Nick reached over and tapped a claw against the picture advertising one of the hottest sellers for prey. After looking it over, she hummed in agreement. "This does look good. And look at this selection of dips and dressings. I haven't even heard of some of them."

As Judy tried to narrow down a dressing to try, and Nick sat watching her think, Finnick sat back and watched them both, a slight grin on his muzzle. It still surprised him that the bunny cop didn't flinch or have her nose start twitching when Nick's large claw-tipped finger dropped down in front of her face. It was obvious that the bunny held not an ounce of fear for the taller, red-furred todd. As strange as it was, it warmed his heart and gave him a smidgeon of hope for the future between pred and prey.

As much as it warmed Finnick's heart to see Nick and Judy so comfortable, the feeling wasn't mutual among some of the other patrons. The owner of the steel-grey eyes ground his teeth at seeing the taller fox shove his large paw in the doe's face with one wicked claw on full display. How dare the filthy pelt get so close to her. It was an offense that deserved to be punished.

Completely disregarding the fact that the doe showed absolutely no fear of the large todd, he sat fuming as the waiter came with three glasses of water and went away with their order. Watching the doe carrying on an animated conversation with the two todds did nothing to lighten his mood. He was so focused on the booth across the room from his own, that he completely ignored his companions.

"Hey, Jeff, what's got your ears all in a bunch?" a gopher across from him asked. When Jeff didn't answer, the gopher said, "Hello? Earth to Jeff, come in Jeff." With a frown, he finally called, "Jefferey!"

That got his attention. "I told you not to call me that," he stated with a hard glare at the gopher.

"Well, if you had answered the first couple of times, I wouldn't have had to use it." At watching his companion's brows furrow in further irritation, the gopher hastily asked, "What are you staring at that has you fuming so bad? I can practically see steam pouring out of your ears."

Jeff turned back to the booth with the two abominations. Motioning with his head towards the booth, he explained, "Two filthy pelts just sat down with an injured rabbit doe. The fact their skulking around during the day is bad enough, but to be forcing their attentions onto a doe is inexcusable."

"I've been watching them, too," said a fallow deer, his broad flat antlers an impressive sight, as he sat beside the gopher. "But I think you're misjudging the situation. The doe doesn't appear to be here against her will. She seems quite comfortable with the two foxes."

Jeff turned his cold glare on his companion, and then said, "She's an injured rabbit in the company of two foxes. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who injured her."

The fallow deer shook his head even as the gopher kept stretching and wiggling in a vain attempt to see what his taller companions were talking about. At last, he stood up on the bench and gave a slight hop. "Oh, I see them!"

The fallow deer smacked him in the back of the head. "Seriously, Greg? Do you think you could be any louder? I don't think they heard you," he said sarcastically.

Greg gave a sheepish shrug as he rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry," he mumbled. Glancing at Jeff, he asked, "But are you sure that little fox is a threat? He looks like a kit."

Jeff scowled. "No, that is an adult fennec fox. They're just as dangerous as the larger pelts, maybe more so, since people tend to underestimate them."

Greg scratched the back of his head. "Is that little guy really that dangerous? He looks so cute."

The fallow deer thumped his head again. "Of course, he's dangerous, dummy. The smaller they are, the more vicious they are, don't you know that?"

"Ouh, stopping hitting me, Anthony. Why do you have to be so mean?"

"Both of you be quiet before you cause a scene," Jeff told them. Turning his attention back to the booth across the room, he picked up his drink and took a sip as his mood soured further. He wasn't sure what the conversation was about, but it was quite animated.

Greg glared at Anthony a moment longer while rubbing his sore head, but the deer just ignored him and turned his attention back to his food. They ate in silence for a while and thoughts of the foxes and bunny seemed to be forgotten. But after a while, Anthony glanced up at their boss to see him still glaring at the foxes. Anthony could almost see the cogs turning in his boss's head. Curious, he asked, "So what are you going to do about the doe over there?"

Jeff thought a moment, then replied, "I'm not sure yet, but it's obvious she needs to be liberated from her conniving companions."

"Ooh, I don't think you'll have a positive response if you try that with this one," Anthony stated, knowing how Jeff liked to pick up girls by playing the hero. "She doesn't act like your typical bunny—I mean, she's not showing any fear of either fox." The deer paused a moment as he watched the bunny interacting with the two foxes, then pointed out, "If you ask me, she's flirting with the red fox."

Jeff choked on his drink, and after coughing for a minute, he turned his steel-grey glare on the fallow deer across from him.

Although Jeff was glaring daggers at Anthony, it was Greg who cowered down in his seat beside him and felt glad he'd kept his mouth shut. Their boss could be really scary when he was in one of his moods.

Staring coldly at Anthony, who returned it with an unperturbed, steady stare of his own, Jeff finally said, "There is no way any self-respecting doe will ever chase after some stinking pred, especially not a filthy pelt like that."

Anthony merely shrugged his shoulders. "I'm just calling it how I see it." Glancing back over at the doe in question, he waved his hoof toward her. "Look, the red todd is rubbing her shoulder and she doesn't even care. That can only mean one thing: she's familiar with his touch and isn't bothered by it."

Jeff looked to see what the deer was talking about, then ground his teeth and clenched his fists furiously at the obvious display of affection. The sight was utterly detestable. It was obvious the doe couldn't be left in the filthy pelt's criminal paws any longer. He was going to help her, whether she wanted his help or not.

….

As Willie had dropped off the drinks they ordered, Judy took a sip, and then a longer one. "Sticky cinnamon buns, this is good!" Nick and Finnick merely grinned at her. They had both told her how good Sonjay's fresh-squeezed lemonades and limeades were, and they weren't kidding. Finnick had ordered a blackberry lemonade, Nick, of course, ordered a blueberry lemonade, but she had gone out on a limb and ordered a strawberry and kiwi limeade—and it was simply divine.

"See," Nick said after taking a long drink of his own, "they use all fresh fruit with just the right amount of sweetness to compliment the tartness. It's perfect."

Judy nodded and took another sip and had to fight with herself not to guzzle it. She didn't want to fill up on her drink and then not have room for her dinner. A few minutes later, Willie returned with the fruit bowl Nick had ordered as an appetizer. Judy studied it curiously. Nick had ordered blueberries and blackberries (Finn seemed to prefer blackberries to blueberries), but then had also ordered a star fruit and dragon eye fruit. She'd never heard of either fruit and was curious to what they were and how they got their names.

Nick popped a few blueberries in his mouth, then picked up a pale-yellow fruit shaped like a large cherry and showed it to Judy. "This here is commonly called a dragon eye fruit. The skin looks like pale-whitish-yellow dragon skin as you can see," (Judy did note that the skin looked sort of leathery, like reptile skin). "And when you peel it," Nick used his claws to split the skin and peel it off, revealing the white flesh of the fruit, "you have this white fruit." Lifting the fruit, he took a bite of half of it and showed Judy the perfectly round, shiny black pit nestled within the white flesh. "See, a dragon's eye."

Judy's eyes widened, for the fruit now looked just like a white eye with a black pupil. "Wow, that's really neat."

"You think it's neat now, wait till you taste it." Handing her a fruit, Nick pulled his phone out and waited for her to try it. She closed her eyes as the sweetness hit her tongue and Nick snapped the picture. She wasn't paying attention, so he snapped another one, then slipped the phone back in his pocket. He'll move the pictures to the appropriate file later.

"See, I told you they were good." Nick reached over and picked up a slice of yellow fruit that was shaped just like a five-pointed star. "Now try this one."

Judy looked it over, surprised by its unique shape, then bit into it. Again, she closed her eyes as the sweet, unique flavor burst across her tongue. But unlike before, she opened her eyes and caught Nick red-handed in sneaking a candid picture of her. Licking the juice from her lips just as Nick snapped another picture, she asked, "Nick, are you taking my picture?"

"Absolutely. This is a new experience for you, so it's only right that we capture the moment."

Judy merely rolled her eyes and grinned good-naturedly at him as she finished off her fruit and reached for another one. They really were good. After finishing her star fruit slice, she reached for several more dragon eye fruits, then turned to Finnick as she began peeling one. "So, Finnick, Nick tells me you played superspy with him as a teenager."

Finnick's eyes grew big as saucers as she turned her undivided attention to him, then glanced at Nick as he felt unsure what to say. At Nick's nod, he turned back to bunny cop and answered, "Ya, I guess you could say that."

"Did you enjoy it?"

Finnick watched her a moment, then said, "Ya, it was fun. Nearly getting caught was scary, but it was a huge rush getting the information and then slipping out unnoticed."

"Did you help Nick out later with more superspy-type stuff?"

Finnick's eyes widened again, and his gaze flicked back to Nick. Nick didn't immediately respond, but then finally gave a slight nod. Finnick flicked his left ear in question and Nick gave a stronger nod. With a shrug, Finn turned his attention back to the bunny cop and nodded. "Ya, I helped Red out a few more times. What of it?"

Judy merely grinned. Although she didn't move her gaze from Finnick, she knew he was getting confirmation from Nick, as his answers could condemn them both for criminal activity—breaking and entering, among other things. The fact Nick was willing to let Finnick answer truthfully testified to his trust in her, and it warmed her soul and made her love the handsome todd all that much more. Still looking at Finnick, she asked, "Have you ever thought of becoming a P.I.?"

Finnick had been tossing blackberries into his mouth, but at her question his head lowered and one of the ripe berries hit him square between the eyes before bouncing onto the table and rolling across it to land on the seat between Nick and Judy. "Have I ever thought of being a what!?"

"A P.I. You know, a private investigator," she replied as she watched from the corner of her eye as Nick picked up the blackberry and set it on the table.

Finnick just stared at the bunny with his mouth open for several heartbeats, then snapped it shut. "Why would I do that!? And what would possess you to think of it?" Is she playing me? By suggesting such a thing? he wondered.

"I was going to get a P.I. license myself if they hadn't passed the MII when they did. I received an Associates Degree in Criminal Justice and had already applied to the ZPA 3 times, so if they rejected my application this year, I was going to try my hand as a private investigator. Maybe if I showed them I was capable of solving cases, they'd eventually let me into the academy."

Both foxes sat stunned, unable to come up with a proper reply. Finn wasn't sure what to think while Nick was picturing all the worst-case scenarios if she was left to her own naïve devices. Remembering what happened in the subway tunnel with the rams and the trains did nothing to alleviate his fears.

Seeing their speechless expressions, Judy shrugged, and added, "Having heard how you helped Nick, I just thought you'd be good at it."

Finn was flabbergasted. A prey, a bunny, thought he'd be good in a job that required so much trust. That she thought he was trustworthy enough for such a job. Hell must be freezing over at this very moment. Shaking the stupor from his mind, Finn finally said, "Even if I was good at it, why would you consider it? What would be the point?" Like Nick with his attorney's license, not many would hire a fox, especially one his size.

"Well," Judy took a sip of her limeade, then explained, "if you were a P.I. then we could come to you if we needed your help on a case. You'd have a lot more freedom being a P.I. than just an informant. And as an outside consultant, the city would pay you far more for helping us than they do us beat cops." Picking up a star fruit, she nibbled on it while waiting for Finnick's answer.

While Finn tried to process what the bunny cop had just told him, Nick shifted in his seat so that he was leaning against the back wall of the booth and turned partially towards Judy. With one arm resting on the table, he scratched his chin with his other paw. "Who's this 'we' and 'us' you're talking about, Fluff? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?"

Judy froze a second, then she turned to meet Nick's teasing gaze. "Well . . ." She took a deep breath. "I was going to ask before we met with Bogo tomorrow, but I was wondering if you'd reconsider being my partner on the force. You know, since we talked things out and you forgave me."

"Hm, I'm not sure, Carrots. I made that decision as more a spur of the moment thing and I've had time to think it over since then."

Judy's expression fell. "You don't want to be my partner anymore?" The pain in her voice was obvious.

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as say I don't want to, but you know, being a cop isn't a cake walk. I'd have to survive the academy, then get used to following rules and regulations, taking orders from someone else, filling out all that paperwork, getting yelled out for doing my job . . ." He waved his paw in the air. "You get the picture. It'll be a huge lifestyle change and I'm not sure I'm up to it." Folding his arms across his chest, he met Judy's crestfallen gaze and added, "So what incentives do you have for me to make such a drastic change in my life?"

Nick had been speaking in a serious tone, and Judy at first thought he was being serious about not wanting to be a cop anymore, but then she noticed the teasing smirk twinkling in his eyes. As her face brightened, she sat up straighter and touched her fingertips together as she answered. "For starters, you'd get paid to spend all day, every day together with me."

"That does sound appealing, but you just pointed out how much more a P.I. gets paid than a beat cop. That option is sounding really good right now. I could still help you out, but then stay my own boss and I wouldn't have so many rules and regulations to follow."

Judy's ears started to droop, but then she remembered her fool-proof plan for getting Nick to agree to join her on the force. "Well, Slick, you know, now that the savage attacks are over—"

"Hopefully," Finnick muttered. "You still don't know if they caught everyone."

Judy nodded in agreement, then continued, "Right. Now that we know why the savage attacks are happening and an antidote is in the process of being created, I'm sure Bogo's going to have me do another press conference and once it gets out that I helped save the city, I'm sure every nameless buck out there is going to want to stop me on the street." She leaned in closer to Nick and dropped her voice to a soft purr. "They'll want to get my number and go out to eat. You know they're going to want to touch my ears." Her voice dropped to a husky whisper. "And then they'll want to hug and . . . Well, you get the picture."

As Judy had been describing her possible future encounters with all these nameless bucks, Nick's expression slowly grew blacker and blacker. At this last image her words had conveyed, a low growl started in the back of his throat. "Okay, that's it." Waving his paws in the air, he stated, "There is no way I'm letting you walk around the city without me." Pointing to her ears, he continued, "Those are mine. You gave me exclusive rights to your sinfully soft ears, so no one else is allowed to touch them." Folding his arms across his chest again, he added, "Before our meeting with Buffalo Butt tomorrow, we're picking up a new application and I'm filling it out. Then we are going to personally hand it to the Chief, so it actually gets seen and not tossed in the trash when they realize a fox is the mammal applying."

Judy hummed happily. "I'm glad you see things my way. If you didn't become my partner, they'd have to assign someone else, and the next smallest officer is a wolf. So I'd be stuck 8 hours a day in a stuffy cruiser or small cubicle with some random wolf officer. He'd be the one watching my back . . ."—with a sly smirk of her own, she whispered—"and soft, cotton tail."

Nick growled again. "There is no way I'm letting some dum-dum wolf be your partner." Pointing to her tail, he said, "That's mine, too. I'm the only one allowed to look at or touch it."

With a wide grin, Judy's tail twitched happily as she asked, "So you want to touch my tail?"

Nick leaned in close, with their noses only inches apart, and whispered huskily, "Do you want to touch mine?"

Judy's smile positively glowed. "So the feeling is mutual," she whispered back.

Nick grinned back, but then Finnick cut in. "I can't believe how sickly-sweet you two are. I think my tooth hurts from the cavity I'm developing from watching you both." At Nick and Judy's glance, and they're consequent laughter, he added, "Are you sure you two have only known each other for 3 months, and only been together 5 of those days?"

"Positive," Nick said as he sat back and leaned against the booth's wall once more. Glancing at Judy, he added, "Though it does seem like we've known each other for a lifetime already."

Judy nodded and turned back to Finn. "So, what do you say? Want to be a P.I.? You wouldn't have to do it full time if you didn't want to. You could be like Nick and hang your license on the wall and just take it down when you need it."

Finnick rolled the idea over in his head (still very much surprised the bunny cop would suggest it, or that she would want to rely on him for a case), then answered, "Let me think it over. It's not something I've ever considered before."

"No problem. The next Academy term won't start until the fall, and then it'll be 6 months before Nick graduates." Finn nodded and Judy added, "And if you need a recommendation, just ask. I'll write a letter for you."

Finnick could only nod again. The bunny cop was putting a huge amount of trust in him, a fox, on nothing else but the word of another fox. It blew his mind and made thinking of anything else difficult.

As Finnick tried to internalize this new bunny cop and her trust of foxes, Nick shifted slightly on the bench and rested his arm on the back of the seat and then, without even realizing it, he reached down with his fingers to begin lightly rubbing Judy's shoulder with his finger pads and claws. She hummed happily at the contact as she continued eating the fruit and made no move to stop him.

Finnick looked up from his pensive thoughts as he reached for more blackberries but paused with his paw in the fruit bowl. With a snort, he grabbed a handful of berries and popped them into his mouth. "Now I see what you meant earlier, Nick."

"Hmm?" Nick asked as he bit into a slice of star fruit.

Finn motioned towards Nick's paw on Judy's shoulder. "Your inability to keep your paws to yourself."

Nick froze, then slowly withdrew his paw. "See, I told you I needed you here with us."

Finnick shook his head. "I never thought I'd say it about you, but you really are a sorry sap, you know that?"

Nick merely shrugged. "What can I say? I've found what I want and now I can't keep my paws to myself."

While Finnick shook his head again, Judy glanced between the two, then spoke up. "I don't mind if he's touching me."

Pointing a small, clawed finger at her, Finn pointed out, "You might not have a problem, but that doesn't mean others won't."

"I don't care what anyone else thinks. Nick's opinion is the only one that matters to me."

Nick raised an eyebrow as warm fuzzies flooded his heart, but it was Finnick who spoke. "You say that now, but you will care when a group of prey thugs jump him in some back alley for putting his filthy paws all over you, or a pack of preds claw him up for chasing the bunny who put so many of them out of a job and a home." Pausing for emphasis as Judy's ears drooped, he added, "You'll see things a lot differently when you get a call from the hospital saying Nick's been admitted and he's in critical condition."

Judy's eyes widened as her stomach clenched in fear for Nick's safety. "They can't do that! This is Zootopia and it's against the law!"

Finn raised an eyebrow himself, then pointed out, "You're talking to two foxes who you know are guilty of breaking and entering, and who make a career out of bending the law so far it screams."

"Yeah, but you're not hurting anyone. Assault is a serious crime."

"Doesn't matter. There's a lot of prey out there who can't stand the thought of preds and prey getting all chummy together, especially when the pred just happens to be a fox. And the predators out there who are now jobless and homeless because of your little speech will want nothing more than your blood, and his for not only helping you, but for also chasing your tail."

"But we're just friends!" At Finnick's "Oh, really?" look, she amended, "We're taking things slow."

Finn shook his head. "It doesn't matter. As touchy-feely as you two are, anyone watching you with any kind of prejudice will automatically assume you're already in his bed."

Judy's ears drooped as they turned bright red. "But we're not," she mumbled, but there was an obvious lack of conviction in her voice. Just the mention of being in Nick's bed had brought up several ideas her sisters had given her. She was definitely going to strangle them when she finally saw them again.

Finnick smirked at her blush and mumbled reply, then pointed out, "You're not—yet." As Judy opened her mouth to give a half-hearted denial, Finn added, "You can't tell me you haven't thought about the possibility at least once—I know Loverboy over here has multiple times."

They both glanced up to see Nick eyeing her with a hungry, predatory gaze. Finnick was stunned to see it. Nick was always so careful about the impression he gave others, to only let them see what he wanted them to see. So, to see him now, with no mask on at all—it shocked him to the core. Nick had really gone and jumped off the deep end this time. He'd gone and fallen in love with a bunny and couldn't even hide the fact. Finn could see a world of hurt waiting for them in the future.

Picking up a blueberry, Finn hit Nick square between the eyes with it. As the larger todd snapped out of his predatory thoughts, Finn hissed, "You're going to be jailed on trumped-up assault charges if you keep looking at your bunny like that."

Nick blinked, then shook the brain fog away. Although his thoughts hadn't progressed too far yet, just the idea of having Judy snuggled up against him while they slept left him yearning to make it a reality—especially if he could run his claws through that cottony tail of hers before sleep claimed them. "Ya, thanks for the reminder."

Judy's blush deepened as she realized how Nick had been staring at her, but before she could say anything, her ears perked up at the sound of an unwanted guest walking up to their table.

"Excuse me, mam, but are these foxes bothering you?"


WingedKatt here. So what did you think of the loop Judy threw Finnick? Nick thought he'd tease Judy, but she got the last laugh. And sorry for those of you who wanted a brawl. The confrontation will take place in the next chapter, so look forward to it.

The longan (dragon eye) fruit is native to southern Asia and has many health benefits.

The carambola (star) fruit is a yellow, oblong fruit that when sliced, the slices are shaped like yellow stars. They are native to Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, but are cultivated throughout Asia and many tropical regions and also have many health benefits.

Chapter 21: He's Not Worth It, will post on Saturday.

If you like to reread chapters like me, the song, Hungry Eyes, by Eric Carmen describes Nick at the end of the chapter perfectly.

And as always, if you have any thoughts or comments, I'd love to hear from you.